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Midweek Rant #1

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

Hey guys, this post has been a long time coming for me. In this day and age there are still some people who are ignorant to eating disorders and mental illnesses and try and dismiss these illnesses which other people have. A common thing I've seen is people using the word 'anorexic' to describe people who are very skinny. Now, as most of us know, anorexia is a mental illness, simply being 'skinny' does not make someone anorexic. Anorexia is quite often accompanied by Body Dysmorphia (which is an illness in itself.) This Body Dysmorphia makes the person perceive defects which aren't there (such as being fat when you aren't.) Anorexia stems from low self esteem and an inability to cope, it often involves under eating, skipping meals and over-exercising. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.Now, most of us will know that anorexia is a very serious illness which the sufferer can not help, and being 'skinny' is simply a symptom of this disease. Some people can be very slender but perfectly healthy, as we are all different shapes and sizes and our bodies work differently.Something that recently made my blood boil was seeing this image posted on a companies twitter.

As you can see this image is highly offensive and unsympathetic to those suffering with Anorexia, and compares Anorexia to having breast implants. In my opinion, a company should make sure that whoever is working on their social media pages does not post idiotic, offensive drivel like this image onto their twitter. I tweeted them stating how offensive this image was and they deleted it, but I received no response or apology. It's safe to say I will not be buying any of their products!I think I've managed to get my opinion across in this post, but I thought that it was an important post to make. It's important to think before we post pictures or say something on social media which may be offensive to others, especially those struggling with illnesses.Shona xx